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June 6, 2024, marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of the beaches of Normandy, France. Code-named Operation Overlord, it marked the largest amphibious invasion in military history and resulted in the defeat of German Nazi forces at Reims.

Some films portray the soldiers who set foot on the shores of Normandy, portrayed by actors including John Wayne, Tom Hanks, Mark Hamill, Lee Marvin, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel, Tom Sizemore, Ted Danson, Paul Giamatti and more. Others focus on Winston Churchill, who made the call for Britain to join the invasion. Two Churchill biopics, starring Brian Cox and Gary Oldman, came out in 2017 and depict the strenuous decision the prime minister made.

For those looking for TV shows about the operation, Band of Brothers starring Scott Grimes, Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston is a must-watch. HBO’s miniseries about Easy Company also features Andrew Scott, James McAvoy, Colin Hanks, Simon Pegg,...

‘Spit’ is one of five features to receive a share of $4.6m (A$6.9m).

Australian filmmaker Jonathan Teplitzky is working on a sequel to his 2003 crime comedy Gettin’ Square – one of five features to receive a share of $4.6m (A$6.9m) in production funding from national body Screen Australia.

The latest round of funding will also support Kriv Stenders’ The Correspondent; Cathy Randall’s Red Rock Run; Kate Woods’ Kangaroo; and Nicholas Clifford’s One More Shot.

Teplitzky’s Spit will mark the return of David Wenham as ex-junkie John Spitieri, who travels back to Australia only to find himself...

‘Spit’ is one of five features to receive a share of $4.6m (A$6.9m).

Australian filmmaker Jonathan Teplitzky is working on a sequel to his 2003 crime comedy Gettin’ Square – one of five features to receive a share of $4.6m (A$6.9m) in production funding from national body Screen Australia.

The latest round of funding will also support Kriv Stenders’ The Correspondent; Cathy Randall’s Red Rock Run; Kate Woods’ Kangaroo; and Nicholas Clifford’s One More Shot.

Teplitzky’s Spit will mark the return of David Wenham as ex-junkie John Spitieri, who travels back to Australia only to find himself...

Oppenheimer will get a theatrical release in Japan.

Japanese distributor Bitters End has confirmed it will bow Christopher Nolan’s biopic in local cinemas next year, though it did not set a specific release date.

In a statement, Bitters End said it had made the decision after screening the film and “following months of thoughtful dialogue associated with the subject matter and acknowledging the particular sensitivity for us Japanese.”

With his biopic about the brilliant physicist who led the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb, Nolan had “created a singular cinematic experience that transcends traditional storytelling and must be seen on the big screen,” the company said. “We invite the audience to watch the film with their own eyes when it comes to Japan.”

Oppenheimer, a Universal release, starring Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr. and Florence Pugh, has been a phenomenal critical and commercial success,...

After more than four months on strike, many showrunners are getting restless.

Writers Guild of America leaders are fielding a stepped-up volume of inquiries from prominent members who are frustrated with the duration of the work stoppage and looking to understand the guild’s strategy in engaging with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. In response to this heightened activity, multiple sources say several guild leaders are set to meet in person with a group of showrunners on Friday at WGA West headquarters.

A WGA West communications rep declined to comment, but Chris Keyser, who is co-chair of the WGA negotiating committee, told Variety via text message, “We have conversations with members every day. I’m not commenting on individual ones.”

The message that several different clusters of showrunners are trying to send to guild leaders is clear: “It’s not ‘We’re coming after you’ but ‘How can we help?...

As an actress, Maggie Smith can do no wrong. She’s a lot more fallible at choosing projects, as evidenced by this treacly story about Irishwomen of different generations who travel to the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France, praying for a miracle.

Smith is at the center of a powerhouse trio of actresses here, along with Laura Linney and Kathy Bates. And while recent films like Book Club and 80 for Brady have labored the point that older women still like sex, The Miracle Club is set in a tradition-bound 1967 Dublin barely touched by the sexual revolution of the era. That offers no improvement on the often cartoonish roles available for overqualified actresses of a certain age. Directed with pedestrian competence by Thaddeus O’Sullivan, The Miracle Club is about secrets that are all too obvious, and forgiveness you can see coming from the start.

Each of the main...

Whether you want the inside skinny on Logan Roy, Hannibal Lecktor, Winston Churchill or King Lear, the mighty Scottish actor will be here to tell all

Brian Cox needs no introduction – other than the usual one establishing which Brian Cox we’re talking about. This one is the 76-year-old Dundee-born actor, who started his career as a classically trained Shakespearean thespian, who played opposite Laurence Olivier in King Lear in 1983. His performances in Rob Roy and Braveheart shot him into the mainstream. Roles soon followed in The Long Kiss Goodnight and Super Troopers. Turns out Treadstone was all his fault in 2002’s The Bourne Identity. And if he’d been a bit nicer to the apes in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, perhaps they wouldn’t have taken over the world. Silly Brian.

Cox can still boast he was the original Dr Hannibal Lecter (or Lecktor), in Michael Mann...

Exclusive: Prime Video’s Hitchcockian thriller Holland, Michigan continues to round out its cast with the addition of Rachel Sennott (Bodies Bodies Bodies), Lennon Parham (Minx), Isaac Krasner (Power Book III: Raising Kanan) and Jeff Pope (Interview with the Vampire).

The quartet joins an ensemble that also includes Nicole Kidman, Gael García Bernal, Matthew Macfadyen and Jude Hill, as we told you first.

The film helmed by Mimi Cave (Fresh) stems from a script by Andrew Sodroski which topped the Black List in 2013. It tells the story of a Midwestern housewife who uncovers a dark secret on the part of her husband, after coming to suspect that he’s having an affair.

Kidman and Per Saari are producing for Blossom Films, alongside 42’s Peter Dealbert, and Churchill Films’ Kate Churchill. The forthcoming film will stream on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

Sennott broke out with her...

Exclusive: UTA has signed award-winning British-Spanish actress Patsy Ferran for representation in all areas, with plans to help her secure new opportunities across film, television, theatre and more.

The signing comes off of her critically acclaimed role alongside Paul Mescal in Rebecca Frecknall’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire, one of the hottest tickets in London which is finishing off its last week of shows at Islington’s Almeida Theatre before moving to the West End’s Phoenix for a six-week run.

This iteration of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Tennessee Williams play has Ferran playing the fading Southern belle Blanche DuBois, who is forced to endure a move into the low-rent New Orleans apartment of her younger sister Stella (Anjana Vasan) and abusive brother-in-law Stanley (Mescal) at a point when she’s already in existential crisis.

Ferran previously starred in a production of Williams’ Summer and Smoke, for which she...

Zach Churchill · Surrender Musician: Zach Churchill: Vocals, guitar; Tom Rasulo: Drums; Chris Cunningham: Bass; and Ross Sellers: Lead Guitar Single: ‘Surrender;’ Release Date: July 15, 2022; Producer: Tom Rasulo Some of the most spellbinding, relatable songs are those that inspire thought-provoking self-inquiry into how a person can overcome their sense of hopelessness through positive […]

The post Zach Churchill’s Surrender Single Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Exclusive: Emmy and Golden Globe winner Brian Cox (Succession) has been tapped as the narrator for Sacrilege: The Unholy Radicalization of Europe, a documentary from director Barry Avrich (Oscar Peterson: Black + White) and his Melbar Entertainment Group that recently wrapped production.

Avrich’s latest explores how Europe became a global centre of extremism, offering illuminating perspectives and personal stories of how radical Islam, political errors, and the failure of immigration and integration government policies changed the course of the continent forever. The film was shot on location in Vienna, Paris, Copenhagen, Nice, and Malmo, and features unprecedented access to former Isis radicals, as well as victims of terrorism, radicalization experts, journalists and clerics such as the Chief Rabbi of Denmark and Nice’s top Imam.

Avrich produced Sacrilege alongside Melissa Coghlan and Mark Selby, also serving as the film’s executive producer. Melbar is looking to release the feature in late fall,...

Brian Cox, the Scottish actor known for playing formidable media baron Logan Roy on HBO’s “Succession,” is making his directorial debut in film with “Glenrothan.” The project is being co-developed by Lionsgate and London-based “Keeping Faith” producer Nevision.

The Emmy, Golden Globe and Olivier Award-winning “Succession” actor will also star in the film, which is billed as a “love letter to Scotland.” The project marks the second time Cox is going behind the camera: He previously directed an episode of HBO series “Oz” in 2000.

“Glenrothan” is set in a distillery town in the Scottish Highlands, and tells the story of two estranged brothers reuniting in the land of their birth. The last time they spoke was on the day of their mother’s funeral when, following a violent exchange with their father, the younger of the two left their Highland home for America. Forty years later, the brothers finally reunite,...

In a lively and wide-ranging conversation, one of the most revered actors of his generation talks Hollywood rivalries, Scottish independence – and the future of the hit TV show

Over the years, I have crossed paths several times with the Dundonian actor Brian Cox. In 2002, I interviewed him for the BBC about the controversial US indie film L.I.E., of which he remains particularly proud. We met again in Shetland, where I co-curate the annual Screenplay film festival, when he was campaigning for Scottish independence. More recently we did a podcast together in which he enthused about his love of Danny Kaye in the 1955 comedy The Court Jester, a film he rewatches every year. No wonder, then, that reading his hugely entertaining autobiography, Putting the Rabbit in the Hat, feels like catching up with an old friend.

In his book he recounts being at the Golden Globes in 2020, where he...

The Original Motion Picture Score for Jungleland by Award winning composer Lorne Balfe is available now.

Lorne Balfe (Mission Impossible: Fallout (Interview), The Lego Batman Movie, Churchill, HBO’s His Dark Materials) is a Grammy Award winning, Emmy and BAFTA nominated composer. Whether on an impossible mission, the heartbreak of the Queen, the perils of the cape crusade or the soul of a genius, Lorne Balfe creates a musical voice that reflects the characters and the stories that embody them. Originally from Inverness, Scotland, Balfe has created music in virtually all genres and for all visual media with projects ranging from major studio to independent films, tentpole video game franchises, beloved animated feature films, critically acclaimed television series, and documentary features.

Produced by Romulus Entertainment in association with Scott Free Productions and Big Red Films, and directed and co-written by Max Winkler (Flower), Jungleland is a love story between two...

Executive has spent 14 years at the studio.

Nicola Pearcey, longtime president of Lionsgate UK and Europe, is leaving the company after 14 years to “pursue new opportunities”.

A replacement has yet to be announced for Pearcey, who will step down from her role at the end of 2020. The moves comes less than four months since Lionsgate revealed Zygi Kamasa was to exit his role as CEO of Lionsgate UK and Europe after 15 years, with Pearcey taking on his duties.

The brace of high-profile departures indicate Lionsgate may be moving away from the UK production space to instead focus on handling major releases for its parent company.

David Bowie origin story “Stardust,” starring Johnny Flynn as the musician, has secured distribution in Italy with a deal inked with I Wonder Pictures ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Rome Film Festival this month.

Flynn and director Gabriel Range will be in Rome for the red carpet event on Oct. 16 to promote the film, which had a digital premiere as part of the Tribeca Film Festival in April.

I Wonder will release the film in Italian cinemas on the back of the U.S. release ahead of Christmas. U.S. distributor IFC will release the film on Nov. 25, followed by distributors across the rest of the world in the coming months, including Canada, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Middle East, Russia, Portugal, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India and Latin America.

Andrea Romeo, I Wonder CEO, said: “Gabriel Range has made an incredibly ambitious and elegant film, revealing...

Director: Lorcan Finnegan (Without Name) Writer: Garret Shanley (Without Name) Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Imogen Poots, Jonathan Aris Following rave reviews at the BFI London Film Festival (2019), sci-fi thriller Vivarium will be released in UK and Irish cinemas and on digital …

The post Vivarium in Cinemas and on Digital 27th March 2020 – New UK Quad & Trailer** appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.

Gavin Jasper Jan 22, 2020

In the fictional world of pro wrestling, drawing #30 might be portrayed as a random bit of luck, but there's reasoning for that spot.

WWE’s Royal Rumble works because of its controlled chaos. The story of the match is that anyone can win, but luck creates a massive handicap. If it wasn’t pre-determined, we’d see an awful lot more winners from the #30 spot. I mean, ever watch a Cpu simulated version of a Rumble in a video game? There’s like a 2/5 chance of that last entrant winning.

If that was a normal thing in WWE, that would get old real quick. While a few people have won at #30, the spot is usually given to someone who is supposed to come off as a real threat – Especially because of their lucky final spot – but really aren’t a viable winner. In fact, if someone earns...

Filmmaker Kasi Lemmons' Harriet crossed $40 million in ticket sales at the domestic box office on Friday, a major feat for a specialty biographical drama.

The period pic, which opened Nov. 1, stars Cynthia Erivo as Harriet Tubman, the famed abolitionist and former slave who led hundreds of other slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad.

Harriet has become one of the most successful biographical dramas in the history of Focus Features at the domestic box office behind Joe Wright's 2017 Winston Churchill pic The Darkest Hour ($56.4 million) and last year's Spike Lee-directed BlacKkKlansman ($48.7 million), not adjusted for inflation. Focus ...

Filmmaker Kasi Lemmons' Harriet crossed $40 million in ticket sales at the domestic box office on Friday, a major feat for a specialty biographical drama.

The period pic, which opened Nov. 1, stars Cynthia Erivo as Harriet Tubman, the famed abolitionist and former slave who led hundreds of other slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad.

Harriet has become one of the most successful biographical dramas in the history of Focus Features at the domestic box office behind Joe Wright's 2017 Winston Churchill pic The Darkest Hour ($56.4 million) and last year's Spike Lee-directed BlacKkKlansman ($48.7 million), not adjusted for inflation. Focus ...

John Lithgow has always been hungry for a challenge, playing a plethora of roles, from aliens to priests, to sitcom dads, murderers, millionaires, scientists, and schizophrenics. “I can walk down one block and people will recognize me for 10 different things,” he laughs at a bustling lunch spot in North Hollywood. It’s an unpredictable path that’s allowed him to pick up six Emmys, two Tonys and two Golden Globes.

Lately, however, Lithgow’s been hunting big game. Three years ago, he agreed to play Winston Churchill on The Crown. Until then, he’d mostly avoided playing real-life figures—he didn’t see the fun in retelling a story audiences already knew. But Lithgow was so chuffed to bring the British Bulldog to heel, psychoanalyzing him as a weakened titan terrified of failure, that he started gobbling up powerful men. In the last year alone, he’s played Bill Clinton...

Brian Cox, star of HBO’s “Succession,” will play Lyndon B. Johnson in this fall’s Broadway production of Robert Schenkkan’s “The Great Society” — the follow-up to his Tony-winning play “All the Way” that secured Bryan Cranston a Tony of his own as the Texas political giant who became the 36th president of the United States.

Performances will begin a 12-week run on September 6 for a still-to-be-announced official opening at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. The show includes two dozen locations and 50 characters, including Richard J. Daley, Martin Luther King Jr. and Hubert Humphrey (Richard Thomas).

Actors playing Richard Nixon, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Coretta Scott King, Lady Bird Johnson, J. Edgar Hoover, Governor George Wallace and Robert McNamara are still to be cast.

Bill Rauch (“All the Way”) will direct the production, which depicts the tumultuous times that led to the conclusion of the Johnson presidency...

British actress Ella Purnell has joined the cast of Zack Snyder’s “Army of the Dead” as Dave Bautista’s daughter Kate, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap exclusively. Additionally, Ana De La Reguera, Theo Rossi and Huma Qureshi round out the rest of the cast.

Snyder and Shay Hatten wrote the script for the project, which follows a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas and a man assembling a group of mercenaries to pull off the greatest heist. “Army of the Dead” marks Snyder’s return to the zombie genre, having previously made his directorial debut with “Dawn of the Dead” for Universal Pictures.

Snyder and his wife Deborah Snyder are producing for The Stone Quarry with Wesley Coller. Ori Marmur and Andrew Norman are overseeing for Netflix.

Also Read: Dave Bautista Joins Zack Snyder's Zombie Film 'Army of the Dead'

Principal photography for “Army of the Dead...

Exclusive: Mad Men alum John Slattery has been tapped as the lead of neXT, Fox’s AI thriller drama pilot from 20th Century Fox TV.

This marks the first broadcast pilot for Slattery since his seven-season run on AMC’s Mad Men as Roger Sterling, which earned him four Emmy nominations. It is his first broadcast series regular role in a decade and a half, since Greg Berlanti’s 2014 CW drama Jack & Bobby. I( hear new Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier, who has a relationship with Slattery from his long tenure as head of AMC, was involved in bringing the actor to the the broadcast network.

Written on spec by Manny Coto and directed by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra,...

Sky has taken the U.K. and Ireland rights to “Sas: Red Notice,” the Magnus Martens’ action thriller based on the novel by former British special forces operative turned bestselling writer Andy McNab. Sky Cinema will release the film in 2020 and it will have a theatrical run and play on the pay-tv platform. Altitude has boarded sales and will have the film at the Efm in Berlin.

The movie takes in events in the corridors of power as well the efforts of an off-duty Sas soldier, Tom Buckingham, to thwart a terror attack on a train running through the Channel Tunnel, which links England and France. Buckingham is injured but is the only chance of survival for the passengers on the train.

Sam Heughan (“Outlander”) takes the lead role as Buckingham. The cast also includes Ruby Rose (“Batwoman”), Andy Serkis (“Planet of the Apes”), Tom Wilkinson (“Michael Clayton”), and...

Want to win an Oscar? Here’s a tip: play a real-life person! The Academy Awards have always had a soft spot for actors who take on true-to-life characters. In fact, a whopping 7 of the past 10 Best Actor winners fall into this category, including last year’s champ Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour.” Will Christian Bale‘s performance as Dick Cheney in “Vice” be the next to join this ever-growing list? Click through our photo gallery below to see every performer who has won the Best Actor Oscar for playing a real-life person.

SEESee how Christian Bale balloons into VP Dick Cheney in the just-landed ‘Vice’ trailer

Much like Oldman’s Churchill, Bale’s Cheney is an achievement in makeup and hairstyling. In fact, the physical transformation is so massive that Bale is virtually unrecognizable in Annapurna’s new trailer. “From the pot-bellied physique and corona of...

Rafe Spall (The Big Short), Mad Men alum John Slattery and Fargo standout Allison Tolman are set as the leads in Hulu’s political, dystopian half-hour comedy pilot Kansas City, from Amblin TV and Sony Pictures TV.

Set in Kansas City, the single-camera project, which has yet to get a formal pilot greenlight but already is in production, was written by Zev Borow (Lethal Weapon), with Rhys Thomas (Comrade Detective) set to direct.

Kansas City is set in a future where the city is separated by a wall between liberals and conservatives. Absurd misinformation and enmity rage as the two cities aim to undermine each other. In West Kansas City, political heavyweight Ellis Brookmeyer (Slattery) holds sway. His former son-in-law, Ben Graham (Spall), lives in East K.C. and yearns to be reunited with his daughter Clarissa (who lives in West K.C.). To accomplish this Ben gets involved with an East K.

The marijuana-growing nuns whose story is documented in “Breaking Habits” are in Cannes to promote the film, as Film Constellation notched its first pre-sales on the project. The feature documentary is directed by British filmmaker Rob Ryan and produced by Nick Taussig and Paul Van Carter of Salon Pictures (“Churchill”). Film Constellation is handling sales and has secured pre-sales with Mongrel Media for Canada, Icon Films for Australia and Frenetic Films for Switzerland.

The film follows the Sisters of the Valley, a group of nuns who are not affiliated with any traditional religious order. They run a marijuana farm in Merced, Calif., producing medicines while facing the threat of local drug cartels and the California state Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation. The tinctures and salves that they make are sold online.

Specifically, “Breaking Habits” tells the story of Sister Kate, who moved into the weed business from the corporate world after her marriage broke down.

Billy Zane (“Titanic”) is among several new names getting behind the wheel for Sky’s high-octane futuristic drama “Curfew.” Miranda Richardson (“Churchill”), Harriet Walter (“The Crown”), and Michael Biehn (“Aliens”) will also buckle up for the series, which follows a cast of characters competing in the world’s fastest illegal nighttime street race.

“Joining the immensely talented cast and crew of ‘Curfew’ as Joker Jones fulfills many cinematic and literary fantasies all at once,” Zane said. “Playing a gonzo cowboy, member of a viral video performance art troupe, on a healing hell-ride, just about falls square in my wheelhouse right now.”

Richardson will play Lou, a character she described as “kind, tough, brave, practical and romantic.” She added: “A childhood of soaking up Westerns has finally paid off, except that the horses are replaced by cars.”

Sean Bean, Adrian Lester, Phoebe Fox, and Malachi Kirby are among those already cast in the series,...

Exclusive: In what is sure to be one of the prestige titles on sale at Cannes next month, I can reveal that screen heavyweights Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville are to star in upcoming love story Normal People, which is due to get underway in early July on location in Belfast, Northern Ireland. CAA, which packaged the movie, reps domestic distribution, with Bankside Films on board for international sales.

This is one of the buzziest projects of its type from this side of the pond ahead of the Cannes Marché and it features two meaty acting roles which have been flagged by those in the know as potential awards contenders. The project represents an on-screen return to his homeland for Schindler’s List and Michael Collins star Neeson but also to more sensitive drama climes after a lengthy spell of pitting his wits against terrorists and renegades in a slew of often lucrative action movies.

On a quieter weekend at the box office with Sundance underway and Oscar nominations coming up this Tuesday, “The Post” continued to lead all awards contenders currently in theaters with $12.1 million, bringing its total to $45 million. “Darkest Hour,” meanwhile, continues to perform exceptionally well in limited release, adding $3 million this weekend from 1,341 screens to bring its total to $41 million. This week, the Churchill film will pass the $42.8 million made by “The Big Sick” to become 2017’s highest grossing film in limited release. Also Read: 'Jumanji' Surprise: How The Rock's Hit Did the Opposite of What...

Author: Stefan Pape

Darkest Hour is a biopic of the former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and so in turn, is a film that depicts the UK at a more unified time, with a more palpable sense of identity – one that seems somewhat lost in a contemporary landscape. So when we sat down with the film’s director Joe Wright (Atonement) we discussed the need for a Churchill-like figure today.

We also speak about the authentic portrayal of the man himself within this endeavour, and how the picture isn’t afraid to explore his flaws and imperfections, as well as his triumphs. We then ask Wright whether he’s frustrated at how many times audiences have delved into similar themes of late, such as in Churchill, The Crown and Dunkirk.

Wright also explains why he opted for Gary Oldman to take on the leading role, and why he believes Ben Mendelsohn,...

As usual, several of Hollywood’s top composers offer multiple contenders for Best Original Score, among them usual suspects Hans Zimmer and Michael Giacchino. Zimmer’s experimental score for action spectacular “Dunkirk” was inspired by Christopher Nolan’s pocket watch, and an improvised piano riff was the spine for Denis Villeneuve’s dystopian epic “Blade Runner 2049.”

That score was composed in collaboration with his credited protege Benjamin Wallfisch, who also worked on “Dunkirk” along with Lorne Balfe, but only two could be submitted to the Academy, so Zimmer filed alone. Wallfisch also composed “It.”

Read More:Oscar 2017: It’s Hans Zimmer’s ‘Dunkirk’ vs. ‘Blade Runner 2049’ for Best Original Score

The creative collaboration between Zimmer and Wallfisch on “Blade Runner 2049” was co-equal (following the departure of Jóhann Jóhannsson because of “creative differences” with Villeneuve). After Zimmer created a haunting theme (which became “The Mesa”), the composers then...

Gary Oldman had been asked to play Winston Churchill before. There was the time in 2014, for instance, when his longtime manager and producing partner, Douglas Urbanski, pitched him his own homegrown idea for a movie about the portly, cigar-chomping U.K. prime minister. But Oldman said fat chance. "How the hell was I going to do that?" asks the slender 59-year-old actor of playing such a larger-than-life figure. "It was never going to happen."

Until, that is, it did. Oldman, wearing what may be the most masterful fat suit and prosthetic chubby face ever created for the movies, plays Churchill...

Gary Oldman is one of the greatest actors on the planet – and he proves it again as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, director Joe Wright's rip-roaring take on the celebrated Prime Minister's first tumultuous month in office in May, 1940, when France and Belgium are a whisper away from surrendering to Hitler and Great Britain may be next. (How I'd love to see Oldman's take on the Fuhrer).

The British actor, 59, has played real people before, from Sid Vicious (Sid and Nancy) to Lee Harvey Oswald (JFK). But his Churchill is something different.

Fall is the season of Real-People movies — the biopics that often fuel Oscar hopes. Recent weeks brought “The Battle of the Sexes,” “Stronger,” and “Victoria & Abdul” and there’s more than a dozen to come, including “Marshall,” “The Post,” “Darkest Hour,” and “The Current War.” There’s good reason to believe that a biopic might produce awards. In the last five years, 28 of the 100 Oscar acting nominees played real-life characters, as did four of the 20 winners. But when it comes to the box office, the odds aren’t as kind.

Read More:With ‘Dunkirk’ and ‘Darkest Hour’ Showing Strong, Will Churchill-Heavy Britpics Storm the Oscars?

Since 2012, there have been about 100 biopics including hits like “The King’s Speech,” “The Social Network,” and “Julie and Julia.” But while recent years featured real-life characters and stories in some of the biggest non-franchise hits, the format may have reached a saturation point.

Last year,...

Our resident VOD expert tells you what's new to rent and/or own this week via various Digital HD providers such as cable Movies On Demand, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play and, of course, Netflix. Cable Movies On Demand: Same-day-as-disc releases, older titles and pretheatrical Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales – (action-adventure sequel; Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley; rated PG-13) Marjorie Prime (sci-fi drama; Jon Hamm, Lois Smith, Geena Davis, Tim Robbins; not rated) Smith A Ghost Story (romantic drama; Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara; rated R) Planetarium (drama-mystery; Natalie Portman, Lily-Rose Depp; not rated) Churchill (war drama; Brian Cox, John Slattery; rated PG) The...

Read More...

The scope of this slice of wartime history is so small, it’s almost the movie equivalent of a one-man show. There are perhaps only a dozen speaking roles. Brian Cox is impressive as The Man Who Saved England in its Darkest Hour, but the drama reduces both the man and the historical crisis to trivial status, as little more than a personal emotional crisis: “Winston, the Haunted Imperialist.”

Churchill

Blu-ray

Cohen Media Group

2017 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date October 3, 2017 / 30.99

Starring: Brian Cox, Miranda Richardson, John Slattery, Ella Purnell, Julian Wadham, Richard Durden, James Purefoy.

Cinematography: David Higgs

Film Editor: Chris Gill

Original Music: Lorne Balfe

Written by Alex von Tunzelmann

Produced by Claudia Bluemhuber, Nick Taussig, Piers Tempest, Paul Van Carter

Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky

No, it isn’t Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill … that’s another movie, Darkest Hour. This is the Brian Cox Churchill movie.

Any...

"You have the full weight of the world on your shoulders." Focus Features has debuted the second trailer for Joe Wright's Darkest Hour, the second film this year about Winston Churchill (the other one is called Churchill starring Brian Cox). This film already played at the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals to some rave reviews, especially for the lead performance by Gary Oldman under heavy prosthetic as Winston Churchill. The focus in this film is on Churchill's first few days as Prime Minister, deciding whether or not to agree to a peace treaty with Nazi Germany or fight back and rally the troops waiting in Dunkirk. The cast includes Lily James, Ben Mendelsohn, Stephen Dillane, Kristin Scott Thomas, Charley Palmer Rothwell, Ronald Pickup, Nicholas Jones, Hannah Steele, and Jeremy Child. This is a slick trailer that ratchets up the intensity and shows how powerful Oldman is as Churchill.

Brian Cox, best known for his role as Hannibal in Manhunter, delivered one of his most challenging performances this year as Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Churchill. The feature hits Blu-ray and DVD October 3 via Cohen Media Group. Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky (The Railway Man), the project centers [...]...

Telluride – A little less than three weeks from the publication of this review John Lithgow is expected to win an Emmy for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the Netflix series “The Crown.” Earlier this year Brian Cox earned positive notices for his own interpretation of the legendary British Prime Minister in the appropriately titled “Churchill.” In fact, Churchill appears in some form or another a few times a year and talents such as Brendan Gleeson, Albert Finney, Bob Hoskins, John Houseman and Richard Burton have tried to capture the once in a lifetime charisma of this historical figure on the big or small screen.

Continue reading ‘Darkest Hour’: Gary Oldman Is Simply A Force Of Nature As Winston Churchill [Telluride Review] at The Playlist.

It's hard to spot the precise reason for Winston Churchill's cinematic bloom, whether in Telluride and Toronto with the scheduled festival showings of Joe Wright's Darkest Hour; at the box office, with the success of Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk; or on the indie circuit the recent debut of Jonathan Teplitzky's Churchill. This doesn't seem to be a significant anniversary year. Churchill was born in 1874, and died in 1965; so there's no centennial at hand. World War II ended…...

Simon Brew Oct 2, 2017

The second of the two competing Winston Churchill movies edges closer. Here's the latest trailer for Darkest Hour...

Remember the summer when Deep Impact and Armageddon went head to head at the box office? Well, it’s sort of the same this year. Just with, er, Winston Churchill.

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We’ve already had the release of Churchill, starring Brian Cox. A film that without Brian Cox in it would have been a pretty forgettable movie. Director Joe Wright is next to have a go, though, with Darkest Hour, which lands in cinemas later this year. Well, that’s if you’re in the Us. Us in the UK have to wait until January 12th 2018, which sort...

"You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth!" Focus Features has unveiled the first trailer for Joe Wright's Darkest Hour, the second film this year about Winston Churchill (the other one is called Churchill starring Brian Cox). This is the film that stars the very talented Gary Oldman under heavy prosthetic as Winston Churchill, giving a powerful, commanding cigar-chomping performance. The focus in this film is on Churchill's first few days as Prime Minister, deciding whether or not to agree to a peace treaty with Nazi Germany or fight back and rally the troops. The cast includes Lily James, Ben Mendelsohn, Stephen Dillane, Kristin Scott Thomas, Charley Palmer Rothwell, Ronald Pickup, Nicholas Jones, Hannah Steele, Richard Lumsden, and Jeremy Child. This looks much, much better than the other Churchill film. And hopefully this will get Oldman an Oscar nomination - it definitely seems possible.

Brian Cox gives an excellent performance as Winston Churchill in Churchill. He's the best thing about it...

One of the earliest and most foreboding images in Churchill comes as a put-upon Prime Minister stands by the sea. As the tides gently roll in, his famous Homburg hat blows into the water and when he bends down to retrieve it, the tide appears to him to be reddened with blood. Regrettably, it's the first and last cinematic beat in a film that puts its lead character's inner turmoil upfront.

It's June 1944, and Winston Churchill (Brian Cox) cuts a less impressive figure than he did when he was inspiring the people of Britain as they came under attack from Nazi forces years earlier. In fact, he finds himself listing in the margins of an Allied high command led by Dwight D. Eisenhower (John Slattery) as they plan Operation Overlord and the Dunkirk landings.

'Despicable Me 3'..

Universal/Illumination Entertainment.s Despicable Me 3 was an emphatic No. 1 at Australian cinemas last weekend, easily beating Sony.s bawdy buddy comedy Rough Night.

Illustrating the challenges facing Australian and other small independent films, director Pete Gleeson.s confronting observational documentary Hotel Coolgardie struggled to find audiences.

None of the other limited new releases including The Promise, Punjab comedy Super Singh and documentaries Whitney: Can I Be Me? and Risk made an impression.

The top 20 titles collected $17.4 million, up by 1.9 per cent over the previous weekend, according to Numero.

Co-directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda and featuring the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig and Trey Parker, Despicable Me 3 rang up a terrific $5.9 million on 456 screens, 20 per cent bigger than the second edition's debut and the third best in June for an animated title behind Toy Story 3 and Finding Dory.

Warner...

'Despicable Me 3'..

Universal/Illumination Entertainment.s Despicable Me 3 was an emphatic No. 1 at Australian cinemas last weekend, easily beating Sony.s bawdy buddy comedy Rough Night.

Illustrating the challenges facing Australian and other small independent films, director Pete Gleeson.s confronting observational documentary Hotel Coolgardie struggled to find audiences.

None of the other limited new releases including The Promise, Punjab comedy Super Singh and documentaries Whitney: Can I Be Me? and Risk made an impression.

The top 20 titles collected $17.4 million, up by 1.9 per cent over the previous weekend, according to Numero.

Co-directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda and featuring the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig and Trey Parker, Despicable Me 3 rang up a terrific $5.8 million on 286 screens.

Warner Bros. superhit Wonder Woman fell by 41 per cent in its third weekend but fetched a hearty $3.3 million on 292, propelling its total to $20.4 million.

Lionsgate/Roadshow...

At the specialty box office, reviews can have a huge impact. This weekend, “The Book of Henry” (Focus Features), Colin Trevorrow’s return to indie films, was scorched by critics and summoned only a mediocre start in 579 theaters ($1.4 million). On the other hand, the best per-theater-average came from “Hare Krishna” (Abramorama), a documentary the New York Times, normally critical in launching any specialized release, chose not to include among its reviews. It managed over $21,000 in one Manhattan theater.

While IFC’s Northern Ireland political story “The Journey” also delivered a surprisingly strong New York opening, the most encouraging news of the weekend was the impressive expansion for “Beatriz at Dinner” (Roadside Attractions).

Opening

The Book of Henry (Focus) – Metacritic: 28

$1,407,000 in 579 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $2,431

Trevorrow broke out with Sundance indie “Safety Not Guaranteed,” which grossed a healthy $4 million, followed by blockbuster “Jurassic World.” This anemic personal project will...

Brian Cox is a pantomime Pm in Jonathan Teplitzky’s ponderous film that strives too hard to excuse Churchill’s flaws

“Don’t pull rank; makes you seem small,” Clementine Churchill (a formidable Miranda Richardson) warns her husband. There are moments of both pathos and pity to be found in Jonathan Teplitzky’s transparently nationalistic biopic of Britain’s most famous prime minister, which takes place in the lead-up to D-Day. Teplitzky sets up Winston Churchill (Brian Cox, in a pantomime performance) as an out-of-touch underdog – “a moth-eaten old lion who has had his teeth pulled” – so as to amplify the effect when he inevitably leads the allies to victory. For a 98-minute film, the pace is glacial.

Every line of dialogue is delivered as though it’s The Most Important Speech in History, the words either whispered gravely or Shouted Dramatically, as if to underline Churchill’s profundity. No...

Author: Scott Davis

There have been many films over the decades based on the life of Winston Churchill and the momentous things the former Prime Minister did during the war. Indeed, there is a separate film due for release later this year called Darkest Hour, with Gary Oldman in the lead role, but not many have looked inwards at the man himself.

In Churchill, the new film directed by Jonathan Teplitsky (The Railway Man), the story focuses not just on the 96 hours before D-Day but also what Churchill was thinking in the days leading up to it.

It was that exploration of the human behind the man that drew the director to the project:

“When you think of Churchill, you think of all sorts of greatness and what have you but the script wasn’t that – it was more about exploring the human being behind that and the fascinated me...